Is a 1600 sq ft house big enough?

tired_dad

900 to 1600 sq ft is a big jump. Living space is never enough. Once you are used to it, 5000q ft can seem small.

Only you can answer your question but as said, new builds are very tight on space but if its all you can afford, there is no debate. Just try and find something with a bit of potential to extend in the future if needed. Extending is way cheaper than moving

sniggings

tired_dad wrote: »

Extending is way cheaper than moving

you think?

enlarging a room maybe but once you start adding rooms, the costs go crazy, makes moving an option,or buying the right size house to start with if possible.

tired_dad

I suppose it depends where you live. The stamp duty costs of moving in London (when your talking about a family house) are enough to make extending a tempting proposition.

sniggings

tired_dad wrote: »

I suppose it depends where you live. The stamp duty costs of moving in London (when your talking about a family house) are enough to make extending a tempting proposition.

that there London, then yeah, most other places then not so much.

searchlight123

this post intrigued me as i'd often read about square footage of a house but not really equated it to actual size. i live in a decent sized (for the south-east) 4 bed detached. i've measured along the width and length and come up with 930 sq feet which now sounds small. do you count both floors when calculating square footage or just the outer measurements as i have done, or do you measure every inhabitable room individually?
i'm confused now!!
thanks.

onomatopoeia99

You measure all the space in the house, so all floors ("both" pre-supposes a conventional two storey design), not just the footprint on the ground

I live in a 900 sq ft bungalow which could accommodate a family of four easily enough, although I'd lose my study to the third bedroom in that case. Had a 1200sq ft bungalow before that which did accomodate four of us, plus a study and a separate dining room and a second bathroom.

richy999

I wouldn't get too hung up on the overall sq ft figure.
What will make more of a difference to you is the dimensions/shape of the rooms and the positioning of the doors/windows etc.

Most developers have floorplans and dimensions of rooms. Get yourself a tape measure and compare them against your current rooms.

Finally, your 3 kids and their stuff will expand to fill the available space regardless of the overall sq ft :-)

searchlight123

hi
thanks for reply.
is it just the rooms like lounges, dining rooms and bedrooms etc or do you measure bathrooms, hallways etc?

Furts

Measuring the floor area would be done between the internal face of the external walls. It is simple width x length calculation so it includes the void that exists with the stairway. Rooms in roofs can be a debateable area for it can depend on the head height and what would be deemed usable space. I have room in the roof storage - should this be included in the measuring? I do not know the answer to this one.

Builders would measure from their plans, hence the figures would not allow for the thickness of plastering, or dry lining. Estate Agents would measure between the plastered finish because this is where they would hold their tape measure, or laser.

Hence there are some variables, or inconsistancies, with measuring floor area.

And one for OP Georga36, 1600 square foot is a good size new build, but if it is spread over three floors then one has to re-consider the validity of this statement. (I only thought of that after my previous post because I was assuming a two storey house, but these days that may not be the case!)

andrewf75

SailorSam wrote: »

How many people know the square footage of their houses ?
I don't.

I certainly wouldn't have a clue of square footgae, but definitely know the square metres. You'll probably find that easier to visualise.

we're very unique in the world in not being interested in the area of our homes. In most countries its pretty much the most important thing.

I guess we are used to cramped houses so we prefer to say how many bedrooms rather than how big the house is.